Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Cut to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Sunday.

HL has been the topic of a number of other reports. HC Wainwright raised their price objective on shares of Hecla Mining from $16.50 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Roth Mkm set a $13.00 target price on shares of Hecla Mining in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Scotiabank increased their target price on Hecla Mining from $15.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce lifted their price target on Hecla Mining from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $26.50 price target on Hecla Mining in a report on Friday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.63.

Hecla Mining Stock Performance

Shares of HL stock opened at $18.60 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a current ratio of 2.72. Hecla Mining has a 52 week low of $4.46 and a 52 week high of $34.17. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $22.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.25. The company has a market capitalization of $12.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.95 and a beta of 1.22.

Hecla Mining Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th were paid a $0.0038 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 9th. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.1%. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.04%.

Insider Activity at Hecla Mining

In other news, VP Kurt Allen sold 52,219 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.91, for a total transaction of $1,144,118.29. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 216,641 shares in the company, valued at $4,746,604.31. The trade was a 19.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hecla Mining

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Hecla Mining in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hecla Mining by 74.3% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,480 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 631 shares during the period. Sittner & Nelson LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hecla Mining during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new position in shares of Hecla Mining during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC raised its stake in Hecla Mining by 93.5% in the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 1,616 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 781 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 63.01% of the company’s stock.

About Hecla Mining

Hecla Mining Company, founded in 1891 and headquartered in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, is one of the oldest publicly traded precious metals companies in the United States. Originally established to develop the rich silver deposits of the Coeur d’Alene district, Hecla has evolved into a diversified mining enterprise focused on the exploration, development and production of silver and gold, with by-product credits from lead and zinc.

The company’s principal operations are located in North America and Latin America.